Replace a Water Pressure Regulator
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- čas přidán 10. 05. 2017
- Install a new water pressure regulator. Also shows how to adjust and test a water pressure regulator. Complete instruction.
A water pressure regulator is also called a water pressure reducing valve. If a water pressure regulator no longer reduces the water pressure to 80psi, leaks, or won't adjust, then it may be time to change out the water pressure regulator. The water pressure regulator in this video could not be rebuilt because a rebuild kit is no longer available. The water pressure regulator that was installed was also not the correct size.
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Link to Know How Now video that explains thermal expansion: czcams.com/video/E8VJxb_eUQI/video.html
Link to other Know How Now videos about Water Pressure Regulators: czcams.com/play/PLvce66kQTjJReaodK6EpMtVvRVi5o4Myu.html
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Today I replaced mine. A company wanted to charge $479. I bought the part online for $64 and I feel rich today with my $400+ :))) Just wanted to thank you again for the video
You are welcome, Victor. Way to go on the successful replacement and saving some $$$. There are now over 200 how to/repair videos organized by play list on the channel. If you find yourself with a few free moments, check out the channel. Have a great day!
Thank you for this very well-produced video, it provided me with all the information I needed to get the job done right! No leaks and the new pressure regulator is adjusted to 57 PSI, exactly where I want it.
You are welcome, it's my pleasure to help. Way to go on the successful repair.
You have a gift for explaining things to the novice - the little things that trip us up - even the tone of your voice is soothing and inspires confidence! I would have never been able to tackle this without your video which I watched over and over again. I happily subscribed!
Thank you for taking the time to comment and to subscribe to the channel. Welcome to Know How Now!
Totally agree!
Excellent video and thank you for showing the alternative way of installing if the pipe cutting wasn't required.
You are welcome, it's my pleasure to help.
You instill confidence by not leaving out any steps from start to finish. I plan to replace my Watts 1" pressure regulator tomorrow (11/9/22) and will keep referencing your video as I proceed. Thanks for sharing your expertise. Just what I needed to feel confident. I just subscribed.
Thanks for watching the video, subscribing and taking the time to comment. Welcome to Know How Now! Best wishes for an easy replacement.
Thanks!!! Best video I've seen on this!
You are welcome. Thanks for the compliment. I do my best to make quality videos.
Fantastic, ending comments about contacting watts tech support was very helpful
Thanks for this video. You gave me the confidence to tackle this project after weeks of apprehension and it went without a hitch. Bravo!
Congratulations on the successful replacement and thank you for the kind words.
I just bought a 52 year old house and this video was another big help from you! TY
You are welcome. I do my best to make the videos worth the time spent watching them.
Best instructions for this valve replacement..Thank you. I was surprised you didn't replace that old gate valve though.
You are welcome, I do my best to make good quality videos. The valve in the video is a compression style. They are not as problematic as a gate valve. As long as you turn them a couple times a years, they sometimes just need a new washer or a slight turn on the packing nut. Some people prefer ball valves though. I have some videos about compression valves - Link to Know How Now Playlist - Water Valve Repair videos:
czcams.com/play/PLvce66kQTjJRuwqmH0S5Shjfj5HeRdbMr.html
Thanks for commenting, I always enjoy hearing from the people who watch the videos.
This weekend I am replacing the exact one you did, else a company wants $479. The city workers told me some of these contractors are thieves with plumber licence :))) Thanks very much for making this video and sharing it.
You are welcome, Victor. Sadly, some people will try to take advantage of you and give fair and honest people a bad name. I find they are more likely to do so if they think you don't have a clue about the work that they are doing.
Wow, only $479? They quoted me between $800 and $1000, and one of them wanted to do it with Sharkbites!!!! I threw all four of the bums out and did it myself.
I agree. Very informative and well explained. Good job.
Thanks for the compliment, Blackwolf1204.
Love your series of videos.Great job Miss (Mrs)
Thanks for the compliment. I try to post quality content.
Great video, I just installed this same regulator in my home (except it was a 3/4" regulator), replacing one that is over 30 years old and no longer functions. In my situation, the gate valve that controls the water supply to my home also failed in the open position and needed to be replaced, so I had to turn off the water at the water meter. In addition to replacing the valve, I also added a 3/4" C x MNPT copper/brass sweat union on the outlet side of the regulator, to make it easier to replace the regulator if necessary in the future. I did this primarily because there is a high risk of damaging the long run of copper pipe that is attached to the FNPT outlet of the regulator when trying to rotate the regulator off the MNPT copper fitting. I know that Watts makes a sweat model with an O-ring union on both the inlet and outlet, but it is very hard to find and when you do, it is much more expensive than the more common model you show here (which can be purchased in a big box store). What I did gives me the same result as a double union model at a reasonable price. Install went very well (I had to cut out my old regulator and gate valve), no leaks. I used PTFE thread sealant but chose not to use teflon tape also. Bottom line, I am back to running a nice safe 50 psi in my home again, don't have to rely on the meter to shut off water anymore, and replacing the regulator in the future should be a lot easier (as long as I can find the same model Watts regulator).
Thank you for taking the time to write the detailed comment. It's comments like yours that add extra value to the video. Sometimes you can buy a rebuild kit for the PRV.
@@Know-How-Now Thank you for your response! My first intention was to purchase a rebuild kit from Watts for my original regulator. So I gave their technical support folks a call to verify that the current rebuild kits would work on my 30 year old regulator. I was lucky enough to speak to a veteran of the plumbing industry, who said yes it would fit, but he would recommend that I consider replacing the regulator entirely for the following two reasons: (1) these Watts regulators have a designed lifetime of about 15 years. After 30 years of service, in addition to the parts included in the rebuild kit, other areas of the regulator brass internals will have experienced wear and corrosion that are critical to restoring operation to as-new. These parts cannot be replaced without replacing the entire regulator. He said his fear is that I would be disappointed with the regulator's performance after going through all the trouble and cost to rebuild it in place. (2) the cost of the Watts rebuild kit versus buying a brand new Watts LF25AUB-Z3 3/4" regulator from Home Depot was only $10 less. (3) Performing a rebuild of the regulator in place (if that ends up even being possible given that my regulator was installed upside down in an unfinished basement ceiling) really does not save me much work, since I have to cut the inlet pipe anyway to replace the failed gate valve. In addition, the large brass plugs on the bottom of the regulator have not been loosened in 30 years (since it was manufactured) and because it was installed upside down between joists, it is not possible to use a large wrench or impact tool to loosen them.
Taking all of this into consideration, I decided that it was a no-brainer to go ahead and simply replace the entire regulator instead of attempting to rebuild it. This also allowed me to build two complete assemblies of stub - ball valve - stub - brass collar and regulator - copper union on my workbench and install these assemblies in the unfinished ceiling. I found this to be much easier, allowed me to do a much better job soldering and also contributed greatly to overall fire safety by minimizing the amount of soldering (only needed to solder 3 joints in the ceiling) that needed to be performed in close proximity to the dry wooden joists and sub-flooring in my home.
Finally, I performed an autopsy on the old regulator and gate valve just a couple days ago. The rubber portions of the regulator were totally shot, the diagram had become basically rubber goo. It took my 1/2" drive impact wrench to get the brass plugs out with the regulator clamped in a bench vise. Once I did, as the Watts representative suspected, once the replaceable parts were removed, there was severe corrosion of the internal valve body and brass seats. Bottom line, this confirmed to me that I made the right decision to do a full replacement!
Thanks for the thorough explanation, I'm sure it will be helpful to other viewers. I too priced rebuild kits and found them to be rather expensive. I have to wonder why they sell the rebuild kits.
Impressive! Nice job
Thanks Lisa. Please support this channel and subscribe, it's free.... and it will help me make more videos.
good show please keep up the good work
Thanks for the compliment and encouragement. I'm trying to put some good and useful videos on the channel.
Thank you for this informative video.
You are welcome, Janine.
Thanks! Had high pitch noise coming all pipes. This went bad. A couple hours of work and now all fine.
You are welcome! Way to go on the successful diagnosis and repair!
At about 3:20 in you put the tape on backwards-
when you screw the part in it should go the same direction as the tape. If it is backwards screwing the joint together will tend to remove the tape instead of keep it in place.
Nice !! 👍 👍
Thanks!
Very helpful 👌 thanks again
You are welcome. If you haven't already checked out the channel click on the channel name to see all of the videos. There are over 200. The newer videos are a little better quality than this one. I am always trying to improve. Thanks for taking the time to comment and for watching the video!
@@Know-How-Now i have been checking on your page and a lot of these videos have been very useful 👍 keep em coming
Thanks for checking out the channel.
Nicely done! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 👍🏻👍🏻
You are welcome, Mario.
@@Know-How-Now Hi. I was going to ask you if you'd ever looked inside the old regulator, and voila'! I noticed you had taken it apart in a few of your other videos. I'm impressed to see how many videos on different topics you've done! Bravissima! New Subscriber from Canada 👍🏻👋🏻
Welcome to the Know How Now channel, Mario. I am having fun making the videos and being able to help people solve problems. This was an earlier video, so it's a little rough. I am always trying to improve the quality of the videos.
Know How Now Oldie but goodie! Kudos for taking the time to produce content while getting things done. I do pretty much everything myself around the house and cars. I can't imagine filming and describing in the middle of the tasks! Thankfully there's people like you 👍🏻. I hope you and your family are safe and healthy. Ciao!
I too rarely hire anyone to do work. My dad was a carpenter and built our house. The only thing I remember my folks hiring someone is to clean the oil furnace. My dad could fix/build anything. I remember my dad showing me how to mix concrete in a wheel barrow when I was 6 years old. lol.
Nice
Thanks for the compliment Dave.
At the 1 minute mark, you mentioned putting a wrench on the detachable joint and the union's locknut. My own feeling here is that it might make more sense to loosen the union by putting put a wrench on the union's locknut and a pipe wrench on the pressure reducing valve as those are the two parts that will need to be separated.
That's another way to go at it, thanks for the suggestion, Don.
nice
Thanks.
3:21 Teflon needs to be applied the opposite direction
Good job on catching the blooper, Felix.... you are a wonderful cat.
@@Know-How-Now 😸
Great video. Thanks a lot! I replaced with new regulator on my own after watching your video. A quick question. After replacing I am noticing that I am getting little brown water. Is it something normal with a new regulator in the beginning and goes away later? I am concerned about it. I installed Wilkins 70XL model. Appreciate your help. Thanks!
If the brown water persists, you might check with your neighbors to see if their water is also brown. If there is construction or a repair to the water supply in your neighborhood, that could cause discolored water. Also, you might want to call your water supplier.
Is the pipe joint necessary on top of the teflon? Thanks for the upload
Use of both plumber's tape & pipe joint compound is not mandatory. I was just hedging my bets. Just using one of the two should be fine.
Nice job , except you wrapped the Teflon on the 1/2 inch c x m adapter backwards. 50year retired plumber 🚽🚽
Thanks for the kind words, John, it's an honor to get them from a pro. I try to get everything correct, though sometimes something slips past me.
What if your pressure drops more that 40 when you flush the toilet would that indicate a bad water pressure value?
What was in that tube that you put on the teflon taped threads? Sorry..im new at this..
You could likely just use the teflon tape and be OK. As a extra measure, I applied Oatey pipe joint compound. I like to use the PFTE tape (aka teflon tape) because it makes disassembly in the future easily. It is sometimes too slippery, and the connection can easily spin. The join compound can be used instead of the PFTE tape, it is more like a glue. Best wishes on the 52 year old house. My experience is that if you do careful research and take your time you can tackle many repairs and projects. With each project, you learn something new that is often helpful in the next situation. You will have failures, learn from the failures and keep trying & learning!
@@Know-How-Now TY for the info & tips Much appreciated
I brought an old house that doesn't have a pressure valve. Can I install a pressure valve before the water meter? Only ask because the house set up is main from wall then water softener then water meter...
I am about to do a replacement after getting an astronomical price from a plumber, but one thing I did learn from the $50 diagnostic visit is that you aren't supposed to touch the supply BEFORE the meter.
can i use it on my water tank on a rooftop?
I'm not sure I understand you question. I think you are asking if you can use a water regulator on a system that has a roof top tank. I am not qualified to design/engineer a water system. There are many different models of water regulators. You may want to check out the web site of companies that make water regulators..... Watts or maybe Zurn-Wilkins. You could probably call those companies and talk to their tech support people. Tech support may be able to answer your question and tell you which model of regulator you need.
Hi im living in California LA county, and the plumber is asking $980 to replace a pressure regulator/reducing valve. The product brand is Wilkins 600XL 1-1/4. He said that its the best pressure regulator out there. I just wanna know if hes overcharhing me. Is there any other part in addition to the valve that makes the cost around $900 i mean aside from labor lets say $250 labor. Thanks in advance for your response
The valve is $284 on Amazon (the plumber may be able to buy the part at a discounted price). Ask how long it will take to do the work & if you will have to pay for any other parts. Estimate travel time add to the expected time to do the job. A little math and you have an idea of the labor rate you are being charged. If they hedge or double talk when you ask those questions, find another plumber.
How did it go? I am replacing mine this weekend. They want to charge me $500 (I got part for $64 ) for a 30 min job. A 80 year old neighbor was charged close to $700 for replacing her kitchen faucet.
Awesome video. I'm noticing a vibrating sound(humming) sound coming from my pipes somewhere within the walls. I can't pinpoint the exact area but doesn't seem to be coming from the basement area around the hot water tank or basement sink(furnace room area) This vibrating sound is getting worse and happens at random times. In the middle of the night it will wake me. The vibrating hum will last for about 5 secs at times. Any nobody in the house is using water(nothing is running) Could this be my pressure regulator? My house is 20+ years old and the regulator has most likely not been replaced. Thanks so much!
I know that a loose washer on a faucet can make that kind of noise, but you would need water running. Is it happening when the water heater is heating? That would cause the water to expand and cause movement. Maybe the expansion tank? There might be a date on the regulator. I suppose that could make a noise too.
@@Know-How-Now it could definitely be the regulator. Mine is screaming.
How close to Pittsburgh are you?
I live around 250 miles from Pittsburgh.... about 50 miles from Philly.
Thanks for the video…so the problem we are facing is, there is not enough clearance to just unscrew the regulator because it is too close to the wall. Any suggestions for this issue other than $600 plumber?
No unions either?
@@Know-How-Now looks like it’s seized or super-rusted at both sides or union ends
@@Know-How-Now plumber said it’s not just as simple as changing the regulator….I just want to cross reference that before spending that money!
If you don't have a lot of plumbing experience it might be wise to delegate the job to the plumber. Whenever I have something that is rusted/stuck, I treat it with PB Blaster penetrating oil a day before starting the project. That usually makes getting the connection loose an easy job. I didn't do that in the video though. I was going to have cut the pipe anyway.
The Air Force taught me many years ago that you never use more than 1 1/2 turns of PTFE tape on a pipe threaded joint. 5 or 6 wraps and pipe dope makes no sense to me at all. Have you looked at the Building Code for plumbing in your area? Some codes do not permit the use of Teflon tape at all, and specify a thread lubricant like Rectorseal.
I am sure your repair works just fine. I am not sure it meets your local plumbing code as executed in your video.
There are different thicknesses of PTFE tape, perhaps the thickness of the tape you were using in the Air Force was different from civilian tape. I did a little checking and found this on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_seal_tape If Wikipedia is correct, I probably should have used a thicker tape. Agreed, the additional pipe joint compound is a little over the top.
Our local code is 2009 International Plumbing Code. Section 605 Materials, Joints and Connections permits pipe joint compound or tape. I'm not a code guru, so everyone should read and follow their local codes.
Thanks for commenting, constructive input like yours is welcome. I learned something new about "Teflon Tape".
lobuxracer who cares if she put more tape then usual! Did she did anything wrong with the way she installed the regulator? If, you are bitching about alittle more tape for safety reasons then you can count me out as long as the regulator was not installed backward or the wrong parts were installed then you need to stop being a troll. Unbelievable how people take the most stupid things to try and belittle the next person
I turn 80 this month. I've owned over 10 houses and rental units and remember being told to wrap Teflon tape 7X on fittings. I use "white stick" pipe joint compound for fittings in tight places. I don't recall the last time I had to redo a water pipe fitting. I use Rectorseal thread sealant or yellow gas line sealant tape for gas lines (dryer, range, etc.).
The classic how much tape to add - Teflon tape is added to fill the gap between the threads and help lubricate the threads. You only need a couple of turns, as the threads are tightened it pushes in the gaps between the threads - if they are good threads there should not be much of a gap. Too much tape can stop the threads tightening fully.
And always wrap the tape clockwise (looking at the open end) otherwise it falls off when you tighten up the fittings.
For high precision threads I use Loctite 567 liquid PTFE - or for regular plumbing (black iron) rector seal no 5 - both with no tape.
How do you determine the proper size water regulator for your house?
You'll need to know the street water pressure coming into your home and the size of the pipe. If you go to Watts website, they have all of the specs listed for each PRV. They also have customer service that may help you. www.watts.com/products/plumbing-flow-control-solutions/pressure-reducing-valves
My plumber installed a new vertical PRV, not horizontal. He did not solder. At least I don't think he did. Does that mean he installed it incorrectly?
No, PRV's can be installed vertically.
@@Know-How-Now I meant if my plumber didn't solder the new piping in at all, is that ok? Will it hold up? Because he had to cut the old one away at each end because he couldn't screw the old fixtures off they were 41 year old PRV and copper pipe
what is the expected lifespan of these? thanks!
It depends on your water and how much it gets used. I'd guess 10-15 years. You may want to test it once a year.
@@Know-How-Now thanks
You are welcome, have a great day.
Mine lasted around 30 years but I waited too long. When I tested it, it was not reducing pressure and allowed full municipal water pressure of 100+ psi into my home plumbing system. LUCKILY, on a lark I decided to test the pressure at a sillcock and saw this 😮. I replaced the regulator and the old gate valve that was upstream of it with a nice Apollo cast bronze LF ball valve, a new Watts regulator and a 3/4" C x MNPT union on the regulator outlet. Thank god I saw it and got to it before it caused any damage to my home or appliances!! Now I running a nice, safe 50 psi again.
1st one failed after 15 years, 2nd one replaced after 19 years when house was re-piped in copper. 3rd replacement is tomorrow - after 15 years. All are Watts 1".
Dang! Can you come do mine for me? 😊
lol!
pressure regulator should be on the other side of the meter
Thanks for commenting, Dave. I'm not trying to be confrontational, just curious, why does the PRV need to be installed before the meter? In some places the customer's responsibility starts after the meter.
I’m pretty sure he’s wrong. To change the regulator, you had to turn off the water supply. If it was on the other side of the water meter, you would have to shut off the water for the entire street, I think
@@ArtStoneUS Good point
Correct. Meter is responsibility of the water company. Pressure regulator is owned by the house and is to protect the house systems.
It is up to the water company to protect its own equipment